Mickey Baumberger – Procycles Sydney
Despite working for Procycles, one of Australia’s biggest and busiest BMW and KTM motorcycle dealerships, located at St Peters, an inner Sydney suburb, 23-year-old Mickey is a country boy at heart.
He still lives with his mum in a quaint little cottage on the inside of the famous Mount Panorama Racing Circuit, at Bathurst. Mickey went to school at the local St Stanislaus College, not far from the circuit.
He has given up a lot to train as a motorcycle technician. He boards down in Sydney during the week so he is close to work but come Friday he can’t wait to get home and work with his mum in and around the gardens and orchard, on the mountain.
Mickey’s extended family also own a large grazing property at Capertee about 135km north-west of Sydney and 45 km from Lithgow on the Castlereagh Road. The Capertee Valley is the second largest canyon in the world and largest valley in NSW.
This is where Mickey spent his younger years, visiting and staying with his grandfather on the farm, at every opportunity.
Maybe it’s his country upbringing that has instilled such old-fashioned values. Mickey is not that interested in the usual pursuits of a young man his age. Sure, he likes his bikes and cars (he drives an old truck from the farm) but he would rather save his money and be ready to make that first big commitment, when the time comes.
Now that he has finished his four-year apprenticeship, Mickey is totally devoted to being the best technician he can be. He’s the first one to arrive in the mornings and won’t leave in the evening until the job is off his bench. Mickey is up for extra-curricular training and he takes his TAFE studies very seriously.
“My TAFE classes have been really good for me. Helped me fill in a lot of the gaps.” Mickey said. “Technical problems and diagnostics and the different ways to approach a job – things I might not come across at work.”
The MAOTY program means a lot to Mickey. In his own words, “Getting through your apprenticeship is hard. There is not a lot of encouragement or rewards along the way, particularly when you first start,” Mickey Baumberger said. “So, it’s nice to know that the Ulysses organisation is watching and ready to acknowledge your efforts. Whoever wins, I’m happy for them. I know what it takes,” said Mickey.
Mickey is planning to put his training to good use. Once his apprenticeship is finished, he would like to undergo more advanced training and become a Master technician, perhaps with BMW. He would like to own his own shop one day and he realises you need as much experience as you can get.
